Live Nation's Cannonball: Pool Becomes Venue to One Neighborhood's Chagrin

High times at McCarren Park Pool- pic from Pool Project

Here in my very own neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn we have a massive 7,000 person swimming pool just waiting to be used. Trouble is it was closed a few years back and has since fallen into grave disrepair. In the past few years local activists have banded together to call for the pool to be rehabilitate to its former glory. A local dance company staged a massive fundraiser performance inside the pool and our local Live Nation outpost Ron Delsener (who run the Warsaw, a large club only a few blocks away) put $200,000 up to have the area cleaned-up.

In appreciation of this donation the city has given Delsener use of the pool for a summer concert series. Acts like Bloc Party and Deerhoof will be rocking out in the pool, but not every one is stoked.

Williamsburg choreographer Noemie LaFrance, who will present the second annual installment of her "Agora" dance series at the pool this September, said ...she is .. pleased that the company's involvement is currently limited to this summer. "This community is really not interested in having corporate America insert itself in our resources," she said.

For my part, I can say that while I am interested in alternative venues, I don't think I want Delsener to get use of the pool for any longer than the summer. Not only do they have full use of a theater two blocks away, but there is also a really great underused ampitheatre on the east side of Manhattan just screaming to be exploited. While Greenpoint is a major hipster haven, I still think that this pool stands to service much much more of the hood's population than a few concerts by indie rock flavors of the month.

So though I do like some of of the bands Live Nation is bringing to the pool I'm not going to be paying to see any of these shows. I doubt I'm missing much since there will be so many great FREE concerts all around the city during that time. I sure hope next year round this time, I'll be sunning next to the refurbished pool!

Article in NY Daily News
McCarren Pool Project